Landline - SIFF Review (2017)

By: Mike Ward on Saturday, June 03

R Running Time: 97 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • A comedy/drama that independent movie audiences appreciate. Never panders and just tells its story, allowing the audience to decide their emotions accordingly.

NO

  • Though receiving a prominent slot in the 2017 SIFF Festival, Landline is a movie we have seen lots of times before. Well-acted and engaging, the movie never really does anything unique or all that surprising, leaving it a step backward from Gillian Robespierre's previous film, Obvious Child.


OUR REVIEW

After a stellar reception for their 2014 collaboration, Obvious Child, director Gillian Robespierre and actress Jenny Slate reunite for their next film, which has Slate starring as one of two sisters attempting to determine whether or not their father (John Turturro) is having an affair.

 

The film is a dramedy, which veers from comedy to drama and back again and features a breakout performance from Abby Quinn, who stars as Slate’s younger sister. Dealing with complexity, some frayed emotional nerve endings, and some subtle comedy, Landline is a film custom-made for a showcase at a film festival. This year, SIFF presents the film as the festival’s Centerpiece Gala presentation, with an after-party at the DAR Rainier Chapter House in Seattle’s historic Capitol Hill neighborhood.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Jenny Slate, Jay Duplass, Abby Quinn, John Turturro, Edie Falco, Ali Ahn, Finn Wittrock.

Director: Gillian Robespierre
Written by: Elisabeth Holm, Gillian Robespierre, Tom Bean (story); Elisabeth Holm, Gillian Robespierre (screenplay).
SIFF Premiere: June 3, 2017
Magnolia Pictures